Oil prices below 132 dollars

The hurricane season, which began in June and lasts until the end of November, had been largely uneventful until now. “Tropical storm Dolly was heading for Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and this has served as a reminder that there remains a threat to oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico while we remain in the hurricane season,” added Davies.

“However, at the moment the US National Hurricane Centre is expecting the storm to pose no immediate threat.”

The most hurricane-prone US region is the southeastern coastline, running from the states of North Carolina to Texas.

Meanwhile, weekend talks in Geneva aimed at convincing crude producer Iran to halt its nuclear programme made little progress, dealers said.

The US and other major powers suspect Iran’s nuclear drive aims to make weapons, but Tehran insists its objective is only energy production.

“The weekend meeting involving Iran really didn’t resolve the issues surrounding the nuclear programme so the geopolitical risk premium has increased,” said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist David Moore. “I think that was the factor behind the lift in prices,” he said from Sydney.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice upped the pressure on Tehran on Monday, warning Iran had two weeks to respond seriously to an international offer to halt its sensitive nuclear work or face further “punitive measures.”